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Law360 Pulse covered the biggest legal news this week, including new reports on law firm attrition, gender parity in law firms' real estate practice groups, and first quarter law firm combinations. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
A proposed class of data-breach victims asked a California federal judge Thursday to greenlight an $8 million settlement with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in litigation over a March 2023 data breach that purportedly exposed Social Security numbers and other personal information of more than 638,000 individuals.
A public defenders union violated the First Amendment by forcing two Jewish attorneys who oppose its pro-Palestine rhetoric to continue paying dues, the New York City-based attorneys claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, naming the city and their employer as defendants as well.
Carlton Fields has selected a longtime white collar defense and civil litigator to take over as managing shareholder of its Los Angeles office.
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday denied a request from Gold Star Wives of America Inc. to disqualify an attorney representing a former president of the organization in an appeal over a trademark suit settlement, rejecting its argument that the lawyer's time serving the group should prevent him from guiding its former leader.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that it hired a five-person tax controversy team from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry highlighted by the addition of three experienced partners, including two former Internal Revenue Service trial attorneys.
Counsel for a former city of Atlanta department head who says she was fired after blowing the whistle on failures in its immigrant outreach services urged a Georgia federal judge on Thursday to hit the city with sanctions for reportedly destroying communications related to her termination.
Litigation funder Longford Capital announced Thursday that it has committed up to $40 million in equity capital to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's private equity clients.
Software company Tyler Technologies, North Carolina court administrators and two sheriffs have asked a federal court to release them from a proposed class action alleging the state's new digital filing system has led to unlawful arrests and detentions.
There is no evidence of side agreements or collusion between attorneys representing a proposed class in a suit against Wawa Inc. and the convenience store's defense counsel, according to a Pennsylvania federal judge's order approving $3.2 million in attorney fees following appellate court review.
The former chief operating officer of New Jersey personal injury giant Garces Grabler & LeBrocq PC sued the firm Wednesday for sexual harassment and discrimination, alleging firm leaders unfairly impeded her from doing her job and made lewd comments about her.
Saxena White PA and Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP on Thursday sought appointments as co-lead counsel in pension fund lawsuits alleging RTX Corp.'s stock fell when it revealed that cracks in a subsidiary's jet engines cost billions to repair, with Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP also seeking to lead the case for an individual investor.
An insurance firm has filed a complaint in Washington federal court seeking a declaration that it doesn't owe coverage to a Seattle-area firm and its sole attorney, who are embroiled in litigation with a bank after the firm fell prey to a counterfeit check scheme.
The North Carolina Supreme Court's Republican majority seems poised to reverse a Court of Appeals decision forcing Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC to face voters' defamation claims, with one justice lamenting that revoking the law firm's privilege defense could upend decades of case law in the Tar Heel State.
In a split decision Thursday, a Houston attorney accused of malpractice was handed a win by the majority of a three-justice Lone Star State appellate panel that cleared her of negligence in connection with a 2014 contract inked between the owner of a property management company and a pair of apartment complex investors, finding that she obtained no "improper benefit" from representing both sides.
A former Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP associate's suit saying she was fired for protesting sexual harassment should return to state court, a New York federal judge recommended, saying the federal court can't enforce arbitration pacts invalidated by a 2022 amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act.
Connecticut's attorney disciplinary authority has accused an attorney of charging an unreasonable fee to a plaintiff in a 2022 defective product claim against Volkswagen of America and not providing documentation to support the fee, in violation of professional conduct rules.
Nationwide injunctions have dramatically increased in recent years, particularly during the Trump administration, a trend that has politicized the judiciary and risks further politicization without reforms, according to a study published in the Harvard Law Review on Wednesday.
The Third Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a $30 million legal malpractice suit brought by a home improvement product manufacturer against White and Williams LLP, finding the claim should have been brought in an earlier action between the parties.
A Chicago-area resident suing Meta over allegedly false sexual misconduct accusations on an "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" Facebook page wants a different judge to handle his case, arguing his current judge's "extensive professional relationship" with Meta's counsel warrants her recusal.
Alston & Bird LLP urged a Georgia federal court to reject a former aide's objection to a magistrate judge's recommendation to force her to arbitrate her claims alleging she was fired after refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
A former Reed Smith LLP attorney failed in her bid to have a New Jersey state judge disqualified from her gender discrimination suit against the firm, with the judge on Wednesday turning down her argument that he improperly reviewed a certification from the firm's general counsel.
A former Major Lindsey & Africa LLC employee's sexual assault lawsuit against the legal recruiting giant must go to arbitration, a New York state judge has decided.
Shutts & Bowen announced Wednesday it brought on a dual-licensed attorney who was most recently a counsel at Reed Smith LLP and earned law degrees in the U.S. and Mexico, bolstering its international litigation and arbitration practice.
Class attorneys are urging the Delaware Chancery Court to approve a $100 million settlement to end state and federal court litigation over Pattern Energy Group Inc.'s $6.1 billion go-private sale in 2020 and award them $26 million in fees for a deal they say is the largest of its kind in the Chancery's history.
Associates may hesitate to take on the added commitment of pro bono matters, but such work has tangible skill-building benefits, so firms should consider compensation and leadership strategies to encourage participation, says Rasmeet Chahil at Lowenstein Sandler.
The pandemic has likely exacerbated the prevalence of problem drinking in the legal profession, making it critical for lawyers and educators to address alcohol abuse and the associated stigma through issue-specific education, supportive assistance and alcohol-free professional events, says Erica Grigg at the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program.
Opinion
Lawyers Have Duty To Push For Immigration Court ReformAttorneys must use their collective voice to urge federal lawmakers to create an Article I immigration court outside executive branch control, helping address the conflicts of interest, political influence and lack of adjudication consistency that prevent migrants from achieving true justice, say Elia Diaz-Yaeger and Carlos Bollar at the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can 1st-Year Attys Manage Remote Work?First-year associates can have a hard time building relationships with colleagues, setting boundaries and prioritizing work-life balance in a remote work environment, so they must be sure to lean on their firms' support systems and practice good time management, say Jenny Lee and Christopher Fernandez at Kirkland.
Attorney team leaders have a duty to attend to the mental well-being of their subordinates with intention, thought and candor — starting with ensuring their own mental health is in order, says Liam Montgomery at Williams & Connolly.
As law firms begin planning next year's summer associate events, they should carefully examine how choice of venue, activity, theme, attendees and formality can create feelings of exclusion for minority associates, and consider changing the status quo to create multiculturally inclusive events, says Sharon Jones at Jones Diversity.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Negotiate Long-Term Flex Work?Though the pandemic has shown the value of remote work, many firms are still reluctant to embrace flexible working arrangements when offices reopen, so attorneys should use several negotiating tactics to secure a long-term remote or hybrid work setup that also protects their potential for career advancement, says Elaine Spector at Harrity & Harrity.
Instead of spending an entire semester on 19th century hunting rights, I wish law schools would facilitate honest discussions about what it’s like to navigate life as an attorney, woman and mother, and offer lessons on business marketing that transcend golf outings and social mixers, says Daphne Delvaux at Gruenberg Law.
Female lawyers belonging to minority groups continue to be paid less and promoted less than their male counterparts, so law firms and corporate legal departments must stop treating women as a monolithic group and create initiatives that address the unique barriers women of color face, say Daphne Turpin Forbes at Microsoft and Linda Chanow at the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession.
Opinion
We Need More Professional Diversity In The Federal JudiciaryWith the current overrepresentation of former corporate lawyers on the federal bench, the Biden administration must prioritize professional diversity in judicial nominations and consider lawyers who have represented workers, consumers and patients, says Navan Ward, president of the American Association for Justice.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Retire Without Creating Chaos?Retired attorney Vernon Winters explains how lawyers can thoughtfully transition into retirement while protecting their firms’ interests and allaying clients' fears, with varying approaches that turn on the nature of one's practice, client relationships and law firm management.
Narges Kakalia at Mintz recounts her journey from litigation partner to director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the firm, explaining how the challenges she faced as a female lawyer of color shaped her transition and why attorneys’ unique skill sets make them well suited for diversity leadership roles.
Navigating the legal world as an Asian American lawyer comes with unique challenges — from cultural stereotypes to a perceived lack of leadership skills — but finding good mentors and treating mentorship as a two-way street can help junior lawyers overcome some of the hurdles and excel, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
As the need for pro bono services continues to grow in tandem with the pandemic, attorneys should assess their mental well-being and look for symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, while law firms must carefully manage their public service programs and provide robust mental health services to employees, says William Silverman at Proskauer.
As more law firms develop their own legal services centers to serve as both a source of flexible personnel and technological innovation, they can further enhance the effectiveness by fostering a consistent and cohesive team and allowing for experimentation with new technologies from an established baseline, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.